Inside James Dean's Horrific Car Crash: Hollywood Star Might Have Been Saved If the 'Accident Happened Today,' According to Forensic Pathologist
James Dean died in 1955.
Sept. 29 2026, Published 4:08 p.m. ET
Late Hollywood star James Dean tragically died in a horrific car accident at only 24 years old.
Ahead of the 71st anniversary of the actor's death, RadarOnline.com revisits one medical expert's theory on how his life may have been saved if the crash had happened today.
Inside James Dean's Fatal 1955 Car Crash
James Dean was 24 years old at the time of his death.
On September 30, 1955, Dean was driving near Cholame, California, in his Porsche 550 Spyder when he collided with a Ford coupe.
The Rebel Without a Cause star broke his neck in the horrific accident, but it was reported that he may have been alive when he was loaded into an ambulance for emergency care.
His cause of death was a broken neck, fractures of the upper and lower jaw and both arms, and internal injuries, according to his death certificate.
James Dean's Injured Neck Was 'Unsupported,' Expert Claims
James Dean broke his neck in the horrific car accident.
Coroner's reports later confirmed that the ambulance was involved in a minor accident on the way to the hospital. According to forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter, this "may have exacerbated his injuries."
"If this accident would have happened today, he would have been put into a neck brace before being placed into the ambulance,” Hunter explained on ReelzChannel's Autopsy: The Last Hours of James Dean, which aired in 2018.
"James Dean’s broken neck was unsupported, and we will never know what impact the ambulance accident had on James Dean’s chance of survival," he added.
The 'Force' of James Dean's Crash Was 'Devastating'
A historian called the crash 'devastating.'
In the docuseries, historian Lee Raskin shared disturbing details of the major road accident.
"The force of the crash is devastating. It propels Rolf Wutherich out of the car, but leaves James Dean trapped," he said. "His left foot was crushed in between the clutch pedal and the brake pedal – and he had to be extricated by the use of a crow bar."
"There were individuals that drove past the accident that said that the Porscha looked like a crumpled pack of cigarettes," he noted.
Inside Rumors James Dean Wasn't Driving the Car
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An eyewitness allegedly claimed another man was driving the vehicle.
Hunter also discussed the unsubstantiated rumors that Dean may not have been driving the car at the time of the crash.
"A month after James Dean’s death, an inquest was held in San Luis Obispo, and they came back with a verdict of 'accidental death with no criminal intent' on behalf of the other driver, a 23-year-old student named Donald Turnupseed," the forensic pathologist said. "What wasn’t widely reported was that an eyewitness said that James Dean wasn’t driving when the crash occurred."
Dean had been in the vehicle with mechanic Rolf Wutherich, who survived the accident.
Raskin added, "There was an eyewitness; his name was Don Dooley, and he swore at the inquest, under oath, that it wasn’t James Dean behind the wheel, but it was the person wearing the red shirt."
However, investigators later determined that Dean was behind the wheel.
